A Collection Of Warriors One-Shots
by CaptainJayfeather29
Summary: Here are some Warriors one-shots that connect to my main fanfiction series. Some are crossovers but I'm too lazy to post all of them separately so here we are.
1. Intro

To make it easier for you guys to understand which one-shot happens when, I divided all the events of the Warriors world into four time periods:

**The Ancient Clans**

The time of the five Clans (ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, RiverClan, SkyClan) living in the forest/lake/gorge.

I will say what books each one spoils, and say when the events take place exactly (ex. between Eclipse and Long Shadows)

**The Unknown**

After the five Clans had a war and broke up into six new Clans, these one-shots are mainly about the new Clans and them learning to survive. Spoils all Warriors books. The longest time period.

**The Awakenings**

Some thousand years after the original Clans broke up and somehow the planet isn't dead yet and humans haven't invented flying cars and all that paraphernalia. Too far in the future for major Warriors spoilers, however most of these one-shots will be crossovers, which I will note in the one-shot. Shows/Movies that could be spoiled are: Marvel, Once Upon A Time, Star Wars. In this time period, all the events from those shows/movies were converted into Warrior cats and the events played out in Warriors version.

**The New Dawn**

Starts after the events of Avengers: Endgame (Warriors version) and runs until the present. All Phase 4 movies take place in this time period. After the events of OUAT are over, but Star Wars events are still going on.

I hope you love reading them as much as I love writing them :)


	2. Lizardstone's Promise

**So, this one isn't a crossover and takes place in the After. But since the events are directly related to the Marvel crossover events, there are MCU spoilers including Endgame, so beware.**

**Background info: The Thorns fanfic series**

**Lizardstone's Promise**

**By: Lizardtuft**

"You talk as if you knew them." Lizardtuft dipped her head in sorrow, remembering how she would never be around Gorsepaw's enthusiasm or Echopaw's curiosity ever again. They were so excited when Buckoflight told them they could come into ScarClan. A now-familiar ache seized the she-cat's heart at the thought.

"They came over all the time." Thorn recalled. "They were always so interested in what we did without twolegs. They wanted to know how we live." Lizardtuft saw a flash of sadness in the tom's eyes, then they went back to determination. "I don't want to go back to twolegplace."

Lizardtuft froze in her tracks, almos tripping over a tree root. "You can't come to the Plains!" She exclaimed. "You won't survive a day!"

"Yes, I can." Thorn propped himself up a little higher, which made Lizardtuft want to snort in amusement. "I'll prove it."

Lizardtuft rolled her eyes, gesturing for them to keep going. Thorn leaped up excitedly, then ran a cat-length in front of Lizardtuft.

"Don't go too far ahead." The warrior warned. Thorn had become a lot more adventurous in the day since they left the Clans. Lizardtuft had never seen a cat change so quickly. "There could be bears or foxes around."

"Pfft." Thorn made a noise. "I don't smell anything."

But Lizardtuft did. She ran forward, yelling just as a fox came bursting out of the bushes. This fox's coat was a dull gray. _Weird._ It headed straight for Thorn.

Lizardtuft kept running, wishing for Brambleblaze's super speed ability. Luckily, she was still faster than the fox, who was gaining on Thorn. The tom had noticed the fox, running through the undergrowth with a fear-scent coming off him.

_I told you not to go ahead!_ Lizardtuft made her paws go faster, no matter how much strain it put on her body.

Suddenly, a sharp pain in the she-cat's side sent her tumbling to the ground. Trying to rise to her paws, Lizardtuft fell back down to the dirt. A screech sounded up ahead.

_Thorn!_ Lizardtuft pushed herself for one last time before the darkness took her.

# # #

Lizardtuft awoke with a start. The sky was red with dusk. The she-cat quickly did an internal scan of herself, finding nothing wrong. _What in StarClan's name-_

"Lizardtuft?" Thorn's voice was unmistakable, which was what made Lizardtuft scared. Her name was spoken in pain. Surprised that getting up wasn't hurting her, she walked around for the source of the whimper.

"Thorn?" Lizardtuft called. The twolegplace cat responded with a grunt, which led the she-cat right to him. "Great StarClan…"

He was bleeding everywhere, and one of his eyes had been torn away. His tail was reduced to a stub, the amputated tail laying a mouse-length away. Lizardtuft fought the urge to vomit. "We have to go back." She choked.

"No." Thorn whispered. "It's too dangerous."

Lizardtuft waved a paw over her chest, the Stone appearing between her claws. After a moment of thought, she mewed: "You're right. We can't go back."

Thorn twisted his body and started to lick the blood off his belly. Lizardtuft let out a yawn, sitting down on the grass against a tree. She watched as Thorn cleaned himself up.

"I think we should go to the Great Tree." Lizardtuft told Thorn. "Then, we can circle upwards to twolegplace. From there, I can go to the Plains."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to keep going the way we were going?" The tom questioned. "We would get to the Plains a lot faster."

"Yes, but I would have to take you to twolegplace and go all the way back to the Plains." Lizardtuft reasoned. "This way uses more time, but lets us get more done."

Thorn rose to his paws slowly, his fur almost completely clean. Only his eye was still bleeding. His tail had stopped.

"Let me find you some cobwebs." Lizardtuft offered. Looking around, she spotted some tangled in the roots of a nearby tree. _How convenient._ As she applied the web to Thorn's raw tail, he asked her questions; the last one was: "Why are we going to the Great Tree?"

# # #

"This was a sacred place to RiverClan, right before the Clan War." Lizardtuft explained as she and Thorn eased their way into the hollow that housed the monstrous tree the next day. "When the last of them died out, this place remained unknown to the Clans for countless moons. During the Endless War, Stormstar rediscovered it." Lizardtuft looked upwards, watching the bare branches sway in the wind.

"It's beautiful." Thorn stated, drawing a paw down the bark of the tree. "Why was it sacred?"

Lizardtuft looked down. "Why it became sacred died with RiverClan. But-" She looked upwards, seeing the infamous scratch marks left on the tree by Stormstar, who was still Stormstrike back then. "We can communicate with StarClan here." Without looking at Thorn, the she-cat touched her nose to the bark. "Watch."

Lizardtuft stepped away from the tree. A harsh wind picked up as soon as she took the step, and the air became choked with fog. Thorn had situated himself between the tree roots, watching the air as it clouded. A few heartbeats later, a shape stepped out of the mist with a pelt of stars, staring straight at Lizardtuft. Thorn let out a squeal.

"Hello, Lizardtuft." The cat meowed. He turned to Thorn. "Hello, Thorn."

"How to you know my name?"

The StarClan warrior ignored the question as he turned back to Lizardtuft. "You found the Stone."

"Yeah." Lizardtuft instinctively waved a paw over her chest, then placed the Stone on the ground. "But I don't understand. The Six told everyone that the Stones had been destroyed."

The warrior stared at the ground, shaking his head. "Nobody's perfect. That includes the Six."

Lizardtuft looked over to Thorn, who was watching silently. Then, she looked back to the tom. "Who are you, by the way?"

"My name is Mottledstone." The tom replied. "But please call me Mottled Pelt."

Thorn leaped over to the two conversing cats. "Hello."

"You're _Mottledstone?"_ Lizardtuft exclaimed. "It's an honor to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine." Mottled Pelt smiled. "We talk about you all the time in StarClan, Lizardtuft."

"_We?"_

Two more shapes emerged from the mist at the she-cat's word. They stood behind Mottled Pelt, but Lizardtuft recognized one of them. "Reedfeather?" The warrior had died when she was a kit.

The starry tom nodded. Lizardtuft sucked in a deep breath. The other cat walked up to the warrior, significantly smaller than the two toms. She looked up, opening her mouth to speak. "I'm Moonstone." She explained.

Lizardtuft dipped her head.

"Okay, this is all great and everything," Thorn interrupted, "but Lizardtuft and I have somewhere to be."

Reedfeather flicked his tail. "Right."

Mottled Pelt stepped forwards, touching his nose to Lizardtuft's forehead. "I, Mottledstone, Master of Time…" He stopped.

"What?" Lizardtuft looked to her side, only to see another starry cat. The she-cat practically jumped out of her fur as the cat touched his nose to Lizardtuft's side.

"And I, Tigerstone, Master of Reality."

Another nose touched Lizardtuft's other side. "And I, Redstone, Master of Soul."

"And I, Ripplestone, Master of Space."

"And I, Hollowstone, Master of Power."

"And I, Runningstone, Master of Mind."

Lizardtuft spun around again and again as she was surrounded by a host of starry-pelted cats. They all looked on her with kind eyes that made the warrior feel calm.

"You have been chosen to keep the Stone safe from falling into the wrong paws." Ripplestone announced. "This is a Stonemaster ceremony not performed since the days of the Ancient Clans."

Lizardtuft remained silent. So did Thorn.

"I, Ripplestone, Master of Space and leader of SunClan want the essence of the Stone to flow through this cat. She will be the guardian of you for the rest of her days." Ripplestone looked at the Stone, still laying on the ground. "Lizardtuft, from this moment until the end of reality, soul, mind, time, space, and power, you will be known as Lizardstone, keeper of the Stone. We all wish you luck on your journey."

Lizardstone closed her eyes, and when they opened the mist has dissipated. Only her and Thorn were left in the hollow.

"What was that?" Thorn asked, paranoia in his voice. "Where'd they go?"

Lizardstone looked at her young companion. "That was what needed to be done a long time ago." She paused. "Now, we can head north to twolegplace."

Thorn was already on his way out. "Well come on, then!"

# # #

"So then we had to go wandering the whole city to find her." Thorn was finishing his story about how his sister Maple had went missing once. However, Lizardstone didn't recognize the terms _city_ and _road_ and _train._ "We eventually found her over by Gorse and Echo's place." Thorn finished.

"Why was she there?" Lizardstone asked, just to keep conversation going so she wouldn't collapse from exhaustion.

"She never told me when I asked." Thorn replied.

The pair walked in silence for a while longer, and Lizardstone's legs were starting to feel like jelly. "Maybe we should stop for the night." She told Thorn.

The tom looked back at her, his eyes dreary with sleep. His ears and tail had fallen as well. "Okay."

The two walked around the surrounding area until they found a cave underneath a particularly large bush. "Over here!" Lizardstone called to Thorn.

The twolegplace cat ran over to her, poking his head inside the hole. "It smells like fox." He stated. Lizardstone nudged him aside, taking a whiff of the dirt. Sure enough, a fox scent was present. But it was stale. The fox hadn't been there for at least a moon.

"It's safe." She told Thorn. "The scent is pretty stale."

Lizardstone squeezed into the small entrance, which opened up into a spacious cavern. Thorn made his way in a few heartbeats later. "Woah!"

Lizardstone's nose soon clogged with the scent of dung. Scrunching up her face, she went back outside to look for some honey to mask the scent. The air was clean and fresh, promising-

"Great." Lizardstone hissed. "Thorn!" The tom's white head appeared in the cave entrance. "It's going to snow."

"Mousedung." Thorn didn't seem too worried. "Imagine traveling in _that!"_

"The problem is that the snow will take days to melt." Lizardstone explained. "We have to walk through it."

Thorn disappeared inside the cave. Lizardstone glanced around, looking for anything with a pleasant smell. She spotted a patch of lavender a tree-length away. _Thank StarClan._ A memory flashed in the back of Lizardstone's head as she familiar scent wafted up her nose.

_I used to sneak into the medicine den at night and take some lavender from Loststone because it just smelled so good._ Tawnyflight -Lizardstone's mother- told her when she was an apprentice. _He never let me hear the end of it. And when Moor Frost became his apprentice, she would grab some for me._

Lizardstone's heart ached with homesickness at the thought. Her mother thought lavender had the best smell in the world. Snapping off a few stems, Lizardstone padded back to the cave.

Thorn was burying his nose under his paws when she entered. "Great! Now I don't have to smell this… poop." He meowed awkwardly. Lizardstone snorted, glad that the tom had joined her when she left ScarClan.

As the two companions laid the lavender over the strongest smelling spots, Lizardstone told Thorn about how the Stone was discovered by Scarredpelt, a warrior of WindClan that would one day become ScarClan's first leader. All of the Clans agreed to break the Stone into six smaller Stones and to hide them farther than any warrior had gone before. She told him how the Stones remained unknown by the Clans for countless moons until Mistystone brought them back with the intention that they would help him rule the Clans. And she finished with how a war broke out between the Clans and Nutstone, who was also on a quest to complete his Stone collection. Reedfeather had given the famous blow the ended the mad cat's life.

"It's amazing," Thorn meowed, "how all of this was going on and I just sat there-"

"The Stones are Clan business, not yours." Lizardstone retorted. "Now, we should get some rest."

Thorn finished laying down the last of the lavender and curled up in a corner on the hard stone floor. Lizardstone purred as she curled up next to him.

# # #

Lizardstone woke to the sound of screeching. Her eyes flew open, catching sight of a red pelt. _Foxes!_ She sprang to her paws, frantically searching for Thorn.

She spotted the white and brown tom being cornered by two smaller foxes. Lizardstone launched on one of them, pulling it back and giving Thorn a chance to escape. The she-cat sank her teeth into the fox's back, and it let out a squeal of pain. She wrapped her paws around its neck, unsheathing her claws and penetrating the fox's skin. Then, she slowly pushed her two paws apart, opening its neck up. Blood ran red on Lizardstone's front legs. After a few moments of sputtering, the fox flopped dead on its side. Lizardstone unlatched herself from it and ran to find Thorn.

There were three foxes in total, one of which Lizardstone had killed. Thorn was underneath the other smaller fox, shearing his claws along the creature's belly. It was trying to grab at the tom, but he was too small and too far under.

Lizardstone leaped on the fox's back, doing the same with what she had done with the other fox. As she was tearing her claws through its red neck fur, it grabbed Thorn with its paw and flipped him over to the cave wall. Lizardstone gritted her teeth, finishing off the fox as it fell over on the stone.

Lizardstone ran to Thorn, but the last and largest fox beat her to him. She pulled herself to a stop, stuck in horror as it ripped into Thorn.

_I _

_can't_

_move._

Lizardstone's paws were glued to the ground, her breath coming fast and shallow. After what seemed like moons of mauling Thorn, the fox turned to Lizardstone and got on his haunches, ready to leap at the frozen she-cat. She squeezed her eyes shut, ready for StarClan to come get her.

But nothing happened.

Lizardstone opened her eyes, only to see that the fox and Thorn were gone. In fact, the entire cave was gone. Lizardstone was standing in a forest that had leaves full of trees. _But it's leaf-bare._ Something was wrong.

Suddenly, two cats came into the clearing between two trees. One was a cream and white tom, and the other a black tabby. With a jolt, Lizardstone realized that the cream cat was Stormstar. But he looked seasons younger and a lot madder than she had ever seen him.

"We could have been killed!" The black tom hissed at Stormstar. "All because you had a bone to pick with Hawk Frost. We should've-"

"We should have." Stormstar mimicked the black tom in a mocking tone. "Can't you just accept the fact that there's life beyond this territory?" Stormstar looked up at the sky. "We were the only Clan not to go to the Valley. Why?"

"Because Sunstar had the sense not to lead his Clan to death." The black tom responded. "We don't even know if the other Clans survived. For all we know, they could have died out ages ago."

Stormstar shook his head. "Misty Frost, I- I just know that they're out there. And I want to find them."

_This was when SunClan was still at the lake. Before Dark Tail and Nutstone._

Lizardstone noticed how red wisps started to come off Misty Frost's paws. Then, they became so large and red that they took on the shape of a cat. The fire-cat detached from Misty Frost at the same time another was coming off Stormstar.

Then, the landscape changed to the forest of ScarClan territory. Lizardstone saw herself, Hollyflame, Brambleblaze. Thorn, and Petal inside the Clan hollow. Hollyflame was licking wounds and Thorn and Petal were standing a length off. Lizardstone was bent over Brambleblaze. "I'll kill you!" The angry she-cat yelled at the tom. "I'll kill you right now!"

"Wait!" It was Thorn.

Suddenly, the scene froze. The two fire-cats detached from the white and brown tom and leaped over to Lizardstone's past self. Then, they disappeared.

And Lizardstone woke up.

The fox was gone, only the remains of Thorn were in the moonlit cave. The air was back to the fox dung smell, and the warrior spotted a nasty pile of it at the far end of the cave.

"Thorn?" Lizardstone knew there would be no answers, but she still asked. Padding over to the pile of flesh, Lizardstone bent her head. "I'm glad you came with me, even though you ended up like this." A pit opened up in her stomach, bringing a fresh batch of barf, which Lizardstone dumped next to the dung pile.

"Thank you." She breathed, turning back to Thorn. "Thank you for everything."

# # #

_What is wrong with me? _Lizardstone trudged through the long grass, her legs barely keeping up with her. Putting one slow paw after the other, Lizardstone drew in a deep breath. _Only one more moon to the Plains. _She repeated in her head. _Only one more moon to the Plains._

She had been saying that for the past moon. It went from two moons to one and a half moons to one moon. However, Lizardstone wasn't sure her legs could make it another moon.

_One more moon to the Plains. One more moon to-_

"Lizardtuft?"

The she-cat froze. She buried her head in the grass, hoping her light brown pelt would blend it with the golden grass at least somewhat. She scanned the area for the voice.

"Lizardtuft!"

She spun around, coming face to face with a brown cat with yellow eyes. He took a step back when the she-cat whipped around, but only with his front paws because his back legs were dragging behind him, paralyzed.

"Thunderstar!" Lizardstone was never so happy to see another cat in her life. "I thought you-"

"Died?" Thunderstar grinned. "Surprise."

Lizardstone wanted to ask him how he managed to get this far considering he couldn't hunt on his own, but she kept her mouth shut.

"What happened to _you?"_ The ScarClan leader asked. "Why are you so far from home?"

Lizardstone explained how Brambleblaze was exposed, and how she had killed him by taking away his speed and how Strikestar had taken the mantle of leader. Thunderstar listened quietly and intently.

"So," Thunderstar flicked his ears. "Who's the father?"

Lizardstone narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Thunderstar looked downwards, at Lizardstone's underside. The she-cat looked down, seeing that the leader was right. "I-" She stammered.

"You didn't notice?" Thunderstar asked.

"No." Why hadn't Thorn told her to just take a look at herself for once? Surely he knew? "I have no idea who the father is."

Thunderstar shrugged. "Where are you headed to?"

"The Plains." Lizardstone meowed. "I have to take the Stone to safety."

Thunderstar nodded. "I was going to go find the old SkyClan gorge. Live there for the rest of my days."

"Why don't you go back to the Clan?" Lizardstar asked.

"Like you," Thunderstar started walking, "I have my reasons."

Lizardstone didn't push. She started after the ScarClan leader, her head low. She was having kits! But the question still remained. Who _was_ the father?

_It can't be Thorn._ Lizardstone thought to herself. _He's too young._ _And Brambleblaze and I never-_

"So are we going to the Plains or the Gorge?" Thunderstar snapped the she-cat out of her thoughts. "The Gorge is probably closer, considering where we are right now."

Lizardstone shook her pelt. "Let's go to the Gorge for now." She instructed. "Once we're there, we can decide if we want to go to the Plains or not."

"Okay." Thunderstar replied without turning back. Lizardstone was surprised how quickly the paralyzed tom could move. The leader had his back broken by Falconwing right before half of ScarClan left the forest. Now, his legs were almost withered away. His tail was only a stub from when he and Reedfeather made the decision to chew off their tails.

"You know, you'll probably have your kits before we get there." Thunderstar broke the sudden silence. "Maybe we should stop at the nearest hollow or-"

"No, that's fine." The she-cat snapped. "I can make it."

"No, you can't." Thunderstar retorted. "We need to stop somewhere, I can tell you're getting tired already."

"But-"

"We're stopping." Thunderstar turned his head to the right, eyeing the nearby forest. "Let's go that way."

Lizardstone huffed, following the tom as he veered off to the side. _I'm the one who knows what I should do._ She gritted her teeth. _Not you_.

# # #

"I thought we were stopping!" Lizardstone whined as Thunderstar sniffed around for potential danger. "We've been walking for two days now." She turned to the sky, which was red with the second dawn since she met with him.

"Relax." Thunderstar bent to check out a bush. "I think I found something."

The she-cat lumbered over to the ScarClan leader. "What?"

Under the bush was a hole, with a hollowed out area at the end. Lizardstone attempted to squeeze inside, but her swollen flanks couldn't make it in.

"Well," Thunderstar sounded disappointed, "we need to keep moving, then."

"No!" Lizardstone desperately tried to squeeze into the hole. "I bet you couldn't get your legs in here either!" She hissed.

Thunderstar rolled his eyes. "Just another reason to keep moving."

Lizardstone grunted, following Thunderstar as he walked past the bush and continued on the path. The scent of rain was in the air. "We should find somewhere before it rains." She suggested.

"I agree." Thunderstar replied. "I just hope we will be able to."

So they walked until the sun was high in the sky, and then Lizardstone was too exhausted to continue. Thunderstar layed down on the grass, living his front legs a rest. Lizardstone did the same.

"We should maybe-" Lizardstone stopped. She was too exhausted to even suggest something. Thunderstar looked at her, then put his head on the ground and sighed, looking past her to the endless trees.

"After Rileyclaw died, I just couldn't-" he sighed another time, "I couldn't go on without her. She was really the one who was running the Clan, not me."

Lizardstone put her head on her paws. "If I had lived in the time of the Endless War," she told him, "I would've thought that ScarClan could never have repaired itself. Reedfeather told me stories about it when I was a kit. How the Clan was only a few stragglers at one point, and how the camp flooded and-" She stopped, seeing the look of a memory in Thunderstar's eyes. "You were the cat who got ScarClan back on its feet."

Thunderstar looked the other way. "Yeah, I did that." He flicked his tail in amusement.

"So get back on _your_ feet." It came out a little harsher than she wanted it to. "Rileyclaw's gone. She's gone."

"I know." Thunderstar meowed, propping himself up. He smiled. "Let's go."

Lizardstone leaped to her paws, looking at Thunderstar. "We'll find that gorge, no matter how long it takes."


	3. Mottledstar's Hope

**This one is a crossover with Marvel since the main characters are based on MCU characters, and spoils Endgame and Doctor Strange. It takes place at the beginning of the Unknown.**

**You can read this one without having read any of my other fanfictions.**

**Mottledstar's Hope**

**By: Mottledpelt**

Mottledpaw knew from the moment Leafsea brought that glowy green rock thing into DustClan camp that it was going to cause trouble. She had said that they should keep it safe from the other Clans, just in case it could start another war like the one that completely destroyed the five original Clans. Mottledpaw remembered hearing from Bearstar -the last leader of RiverClan- that the Stone had been broken into six different rocks and were hidden in places no cat could reach. Mottledpaw had only been a kit, but he remembered being relieved.

But that was what had started the war in the first place. Soon enough Bearstar was killed by a ThunderClan warrior named Scarredpelt and fights broke out between the five Clans. Leaders and medicine cats were killed. Clanmates turned on each other.

Mottledpaw had been three moons old. He still remembered when a mixed group of WindClan and SkyClan cats came and killed his mother, Dawnrunner, and left him to shelter with Ravensnout and her kits, Farkit, Ryekit and Springkit.

After the war was finally over, half of WindClan and a small bunch of RiverClan formed DustClan under Duststar and Thunderflash, who had both been part of WindClan originally.

When Leafsea came back with the very thing that had destroyed Mottledpaw's life, no cat was happy. At all. So Duststar ordered that the green Stone be kept in his den behind highcliff so it wouldn't cause trouble. But it did.

Apparently ScarClan got word that the Stone was in DustClan camp, and attacked a moon after Leafsea brought it in.

Now, as Mottledpaw scraped his claws down a ScarClan warrior's back, he knew that he had been right. _Leafsea should never have done such a thing._

"Mottledpaw!" Springpaw's mew rang over the sound of fighting cats, and when the white tom turned, Springpaw flung a ScarClan apprentice at him, and Mottledpaw pinned them against the stone-hard ground of the cave.

"That… thing shouldn't be here." The apprentice choked.

"I know." Mottledpaw whispered, before grabbing her head and smacking it repeatedly against the stone. As soon as the she-cat blacked out, he looked for another cat to help.

He spotted Whitedusk, a ScarClan warrior he met at the last gathering. The large tom was advancing on Honeysky, one of DustClan's queens. The apprentice leaped on Whitedusk, hoping to buy Honeysky enough time to get away. Too focused on trying to claw out the warrior's eyes, he didn't hear Scarredstar order a retreat.

As ScarClan cats raced towards the waterfall entrance, Mottledpaw didn't let Whitedust go until Eveningrock came over and told him to. Watching the white warrior run out of DustClan's camp, disappointment ran through him. _It would've been nice to rip off just a _little bit _more of his fur._

"Good job." Duststar meowed, as the last ScarClan warrior disappeared. "I think we showed them not to mess with-"

"Duststar!" Sheepspirit called. Every cat turned to see the medicine cat bent over the apprentice that Mottledpaw knocked out. She was still there, laying on the stone like she was sleeping.

"Should we throw her into the Burning Sea?" Some cat asked, but was quickly silenced by their Clanmates.

"Does anybody know this ScarClan apprentice?" Duststar asked the crowd. Every cat remained silent.

"I think we should just take her to the border." Thunderflash commented. "And then a patrol can collect her." The deputy stared at his leader.

After what seemed like a moon, Duststar meowed quietly; "Alright."

Thunderflash beckoned Shredfleck and Littlejump to go with him to the border. As the three cats hauled the apprentice to the entrance of the cave and along the narrow path behind the waterfall, Mottledpaw watched in longing, wishing to go with them. _What if there's another battle?_ The apprentice flexed his claws. _I want to be there!_

"Yeah, I know." Farpaw was suddenly next to the white tom, staring at him with his orange eyes. "I wanna go too." The dark gray tom looked away. Mottledpaw's green gaze followed his, and he saw the last tip of the ScarClan apprentice's tail as Shredfleck pushed her out of camp.

"That's Starpaw." Farpaw explained. "She told me that she'll be a warrior any day now."

"_Told you?"_ Mottledpaw asked as his companion walked towards the apprentice's den. "When did you meet her? Why didn't you speak up when Duststar asked? Wha… what would happen to her name if she became leader?"

Farpaw stopped. For half a heartbeat there was silence, then the tom burst out in laughter.

Mottledpaw gritted his teeth. Though they had been apprenticed at the same time, he was older than Farpaw. _I shouldn't let him get to me._ He pushed past him into the apprentice's den, falling into his nest even though it was only sunhigh. He suddenly didn't feel like being awake. Trying to block out the sound of Farpaw's laughs, Mottledpaw buried his face in moss and closed his eyes.

And opened them.

He wasn't in his nest. Instead, he was standing in a pine forest, fog blanketing the ground. In front of him was a large stone structure that had moss and grass growing on it. _So these are the Ruins,_ he thought.

Mottledpaw remembered how the MarshClan medicine cat Stormriver announced at the first Gathering of the new Clans that he had found a new Moonpool, which every medicine cat went to every half moon.

"Hello?" A cry of a young cat echoed through the trees, making the apprentice's fur stand on end. "Is anybody there?"

A nearby bush rustled, and out came a small black kit, her orange eyes round with fear. Mottledpaw walked over to her, but the kit seemed to take no notice.

"Feather." A starry cat that the white tom didn't recognize walked up to the kit. "Follow me."

Mottledpaw watched for a heartbeat as the two cats walked into the fog, then decided to follow. They took him right up to the ruins, where more cats were gathered.

"Who are you, again?" The kit sat down, looking at the StarClan warrior. Mottledpaw let out a purr of amusement at how all the fear was gone from her face.

"My name is Applestar." He responded, turning to the other cats. These cats looked alive, though. "And this is Ragged Sky, Leafsea, Starpaw, Jaggedwater, and Light Mist."

"Hello!" The kit squealed. A purr of amusement escaped from the dark red tom that Applestar referred to as Ragged Sky.

"Why am I here?" Starpaw spoke up.

Mottledpaw took the moment to sit down in a comfortable position to watch the rest of the meeting. As a silence followed Starpaw's words, he wondered what this even _was._ There were two cats he knew here, as well as the four other cats and Applestar. _And why am I here?_

"Are you SunClan?" Jaggedwater broke the silence and also Mottledpaw's train of thought. The brown and black tom was staring at a cream she-cat identified as Light Mist.

"I am." She answered, sitting down. "Sunstar misses the other Clans. But then again, we can have all the prey in the entire Forest!"

"You should have come with us." Leafsea chimed in. "It's too strange not having SunClan beside us. Gatherings feel so-"

"Enough!" Applestar silenced the cats, who were now sitting in an organized circle, seemingly by accident. He turned to Starpaw. "I brought you here because of something important." The StarClan warrior moved so he was looking at everyone. "DustClan has a Stone in their possession, as well as Ragged Sky's rouge group."

"We're not _rogues._" Came the reply.

Applestar ignored him. "The age of the Stones has begun."

"Excuse me." Feather piped up. "What's a Stone?"

"This." Applestar flicked his tail in a circular motion, and an orange glowing rock fell on the ground next to him. He picked it up between his teeth, and laid it in front of the kit. "From now on, this Stone will be known as the Featherstone, the Stone of souls." He paused, leaning down to touch his muzzle to her head. "And you will be known as Featherstone also. For the remainder of your life, you must protect the Stone, and find a suitable successor."

"What?" Featherstone seemed completely clueless, which made Mottledpaw snort.

"When you wake up," Applestar told her, "You will know everything you need to know. You will have the sense of a full grown cat." He let Featherstone pick up the rock in her teeth and turned to Light Mist. Doing the same thing with his tail, a yellow rock fell this time. "Lightstone, the Stone of mind." He walked to Leafsea. "The Leafstone, Stone of time."

"The Raggedstone, Stone of reality."

"The Jaggedstone, Stone of power."

Lastly, he turned to Starpaw. "The Starstone, Stone of Space." But Applestar didn't walk on, just stared at her. "Be careful, Starpaw. The future of your Stone lies in shadows."

With that last sentence, a sequence of images suddenly flashed in front of Mottledpaw's vision. He saw a red tom with empty eye sockets, clutching the Starstone in his mouth. Then, there was a light gray tom with amber eyes, who was wading in water as he tripped over the Stone, which was half buried in the sand. Then a ginger tom with white stripes, and a black tom with angry blue eyes, a seemingly endless stream of other cats behind him. He watched as the ginger tom as well as five other cats charged at the black tom.

Then, Mottledpaw was thrust back into reality. As he blinked his eyes open, he realized that all the cats were gone except Leafsea and Applestar. The she-cat was sitting while the StarClan warrior looked down on her.

"What you have to do when you wake up is start to look for an apprentice. When you die, there needs to be someone to look after the Leafstone."

Leafsea dipped her head. "But how will I know who to choose? There are so many good cats in DustClan."

Applestar swiveled his head around, looking straight at Mottledpaw where he was hiding among tree roots. "You'll know."

# # #

"This warrior will now be known as Mottledpelt." Duststar announced. "StarClan honors you for your determination and strength, and welcome you as a full warrior of DustClan."

"Mottledpelt!"

"Farshadow!"

"Springcloud!"

The three new warriors soaked in the Clan's praise, and Mottledpelt heard Farshadow purr over the yelling of their excited Clanmates. Once the clearing died down, Leafstone walked over to Mottledpelt as Farshadow and Springcloud went their separate ways.

Mottledpelt remembered when he had woken up from his dream, and Leafstone had called a meeting to tell the Clan about it. Fortunately, she seemed to not know that Mottledpelt had watched the entire conversation.

"As long as the Stones are with the Stonemasters, the Clans will be at peace." She had said. And Sheepspirit had confirmed that Leafstone was right. And nobody questioned her.

"Can I talk to you?" The Stonemaster was saying right now. "Alone?"

Mottledpelt hesitated. "Yeah, but I have to be back before sunset so I can sit vigil." He glanced through the hole in the roof of the cave, noticing that the sky was already turning a shade of pink.

"We'll be quick." Leafstone assured him. "Just follow me."

She lead him to the entrance of camp, squeezing against the wall on the outside of the cave as to not be sprayed by the waterfall. Mottledpelt did the same, unsheathing his claws to keep from slipping on the smooth rock.

Once they were a ways away from camp, Leafstone stopped in the middle of the rose field and sat down. She stared at Mottledpelt as he did the same. Once he was situated, she started talking.

"Do you remember when I told the Clan about the Stone?" She asked. Mottledpelt nodded. It was only half a moon ago. "What I didn't tell them was that I needed to find an apprentice, and I'm considering you." She looked down, her green eyes distant. "But you're not the only one I'm thinking about. Farshadow also seems like he could be a worthy successor."

Mottledpelt wanted to tell her that he had seen the entire thing and he knew this already. But he kept his mouth shut as Leafstone continued to stare at him in silence.

After what seemed like a moon, the Stonemaster broke the silence. "Well, I don't know what else to say, so we should probably go back to camp." In fact, the sky had turned from pink to orange and purple.

"Yeah, let's go." Mottledpelt replied.

Halfway through their walk, he remembered something.

"What?" Leafstone asked as she smacked into his hindquarters as he suddenly stopped.

"The Stones are what started the war." He unsheathed his claws, digging them into the grass underpaw. "It's because of them that my mother died."

"I know you might not want to do this, and if you don't, I can fetch Farshadow." Leafstone meowed from behind. "Your feelings matter too."

"I don't want to shelter the thing that tore my life apart." Mottledpelt mumbled. "You can take Farshadow."

Leafstone shrugged as she passed him, looking back as the warrior stayed put. "Suit yourself." She called, then started running towards camp.

Mottledpelt took a deep breath, closing his eyes. _Calm down._ He told himself. Sheathing his claws, he put one paw after the other as he walked back home.

# # #

_Thank StarClan we became warriors _last _night!_ Mottledpelt didn't want to miss this gathering. It was the first since the other Clans found out about the Leafstone and ScarClan attacked the camp. There would certainly be some commotion tonight, and that was something Mottledpelt loved. As he slowly made his way down the side of the crater, excitement ran through his veins.

He walked over, joining the other DustClan cats who were already situated in the clearing. He watched as Pinepad walked over to Witheredglow of MarshClan.

"Hey," Farshadow rubbed up against Mottledpelt. "Look."

The white tom followed his gaze, to where Starpaw was chatting with some other apprentices. "Let's go talk to her." Farshadow whispered.

Mottledpelt took a deep breath, his fur growing hot for a reason unknown to him. "Alright."

The two warriors padded side-by-side over to the ScarClan apprentice. As they drew closer, she drew her lips back in a snarl, turning her back to the cats she was talking to. Soon enough, the ScarClan cats with her were gone and Farshadow and Mottledpelt were right next to her.

"What do you want?" She hissed, her claws glinting in the moonlight. Her gaze was fixed on Mottledpelt.

"Starpaw, I-"

"My name is Starstone." She hissed. "I'm sure Leafstone told you about it."

"Congrats." Farshadow dipped his head. "Do you have the Stone with you?"

"Why in the name of StarClan would I tell you? What if you want to take it from me?" Starstone leaped to her paws, growling.

"StarClan chose you to guard the Starstone, why would anyone try to take it?" The ScarClan warrior stared at Mottledpelt with mild confusion as he spoke, but once he was done she returned to being angry.

"You're the one who knocked me clean out during that battle, why would I trust you, you little fleab-"

She was silenced by a yowl from Marshstar, signaling the beginning of the gathering. All three cats dropped conversation and looked up at the leaders, who were sitting on a large multicolored rock at the back of the crater.

"All is well in MarshClan." Marshstar yelled so every cat could hear. "We have finished building our camp." Mottledpelt remembered how the other Clans had to build their camps, while DustClan lived in a cave and didn't have to worry about things like that. Also, the other Clans had to worry about rain, but DustClan didn't. _Sucks to be them._

"We have news in DustClan." Duststar had a bright look on his face. "Farshadow, Springcloud, and Mottledpelt have become warriors."

Mottledpelt stood proudly as the gathered cats chanted their names. His eyes wandered around the clearing until they fell on Starstone, who was sitting silently with an angry look on her face. The warrior's feelings plummeted.

"Honeysky and Mapledust are expecting kits." Duststar continued. Yowls of congratulation met his words, and Mottledpelt spotted Mapledust, who was beaming.

Once the noise died down, Scarredstar spoke. "Are you not going to tell them about the Stone that you're hiding?" The ScarClan warrior glared accusingly at Duststar.

"Leafstone is in charge of that now." Mottledpelt was impressed that his leader could keep a calm face. "No more conflict should come because of this."

"But the Stones are what destroyed the Clans and drove us to the Valley in the first place!" Brookwater, a ScarClan warrior, called. "We should get rid of it!"

"Enough!" Marshstar called. "You can fight over rocks on your own time. Scarredstar, please share your Clan news."

Scarredstar huffed, forcing her fur to lie flat. "Mouseripple shared a vision with Yellow Sky of SunClan. I am pleased to report that they are doing well."

Mottledpelt remembered meeting Yellow Sky when SunClan made the decision to stay at the lake. She and Sunstar told the other Clans that they would keep in touch over their medicine cats.

"I think we shouldn't share SunClan's news at gatherings." Duststar meowed. "They chose to be alone."

A silence gripped the clearing.

"Well, I say we end this gathering." Marshstar announced, jumping off the rock. The rest of MarshClan followed him out of the crater.

"Come on." Duststar mumbled, barely audible to Mottledpelt. "Let's get home."

The warriors of DustClan proceeded to walk home. But before they had even crossed into their home territory, a yowl split the air.

"What was that?" Thunderflash frantically spun his head around, but nothing was visible. Mottledpelt did the same, almost bumping into Springcloud in the process.

Suddenly, a hard force slammed into his side. The white tom went spiraling across the grass, unable to see anything but stars. He tried to speak, but at the same instant the cat pinned him to the ground and put their paw on his throat.

As the world came back into focus, Mottledpelt made out the shape of Farshadow, his eyes glowing menacingly and his lips drawn back in a snarl.

"Farshadow!" Duststar's voice grew louder as the DustClan leader neared. "What are you doing?"

The gray tom instantly made his gaze look playful, and sheathed his claws, loosening his grip on Mottledpelt's throat. The warrior gasped for breath as Farshadow began to speak.

"I was only playing." The gray tom swished his tail back and forth, turning away from Mottledpelt. "Am I not allowed to have fun with my best friend?"

Duststar remained silent, and then spun around and started back towards the Clan, who were watching with interested faces. Mottledpelt narrowed his eyes at them.

Once the rest of the Clan had continued to move, Mottledpelt rose to his paws. Farshadow was waiting for him.

"What was that about?" The white tom asked. Farshadow didn't say anything, just started walking towards the rest of the Clan. Mottledpelt shrugged and started his paws towards camp.

# # #

"I have decided to take Farshadow as my apprentice." Leafstone finished, looking down at the dark gray tom, who had his head raised in pride. "After I'm gone, he will take all responsibility for the Stone."

The Clan murmured congrats to Farshadow. Mottledpelt went up to give his Clanmate a nuzzle, but was a little hesitant when he remembered how the tom had attacked him a quarter moon ago. As he lowered his head, Farshadow did the same.

"Meet me at the top of the waterfall, at sundown." He whispered in Mottledpelt's ear.

He nodded, pushing through the crowd to the front of the cave, where Ryepaw was sitting on the sunning rock. The warrior made his way over to the medicine cat, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Hey," Mottledpelt leaped on the rock, settling down next to the yellow she-cat. When she didn't answer, he continued, "Are you happy for Farshadow? I mean, a Stonemaster is a huge respon-"

"No, I'm not happy." Ryepaw meowed robotically. She turned to Mottledpelt, a crazed look in her eyes. "This should have never happened."

She rose to her paws, walking closer to Mottledpelt, her eyes wide and unblinking. "This was a mistake!"

"Ryepaw!" Leafstone called, who was running towards the two cats with Sheepspirit close behind. "What's going on?"

Ryepaw flicked her head towards the Stonemaster, her teeth drawn back in a snarl. "You fool!"

"What?" Leafstone narrowed her green eyes.

"Fool!" Ryepaw leaped down, leaving Mottledpelt alone on the rock. "Because of you, ruin will come to the Clans!"

"What are you talking about?" Mottledpelt skidded down the side of the stone, landing on the ground. "Why?"

Suddenly, Ryepaw fell to the ground. The group of cats froze in a ring around her.

After a few moments of complete silence, Mottledpelt spoke. "What in StarClan's name just happened?"

Sheepspirit went over to sniff Ryepaw. "She's been acting weirdly lately. I wasn't concerned so I didn't do anything."

"That doesn't explain why." Mottledpelt replied. "Maybe she swallowed some rotten prey?"

Leafstone shrugged. "Maybe."

"Let me take her to my den." Sheepspirit grabbed Ryepaw by the neck fur and started dragging her towards the medicine den, which thankfully was the closest den.

"I'm going to go get some air." Mottledpelt turned and dashed out of camp. Once he was out in the open plains of DustClan territory, he took a deep breath.

_I don't think Ryepaw's sick. _He thought, sitting down. _She was trying to tell me something. But what?_

"Hey Mottledpelt!" Thunderflash's mew broke into Mottledpelt's thoughts. "Do you want to join our border patrol?" The deputy stood at the edge of the forest, where Littlejump was marking a tree behind him.

"Yeah, sure." He picked up speed as he made his way to Thunderflash's patrol.

When the borders were marked, the group started back towards the waterfall. Mottledpelt was exhausted, he hadn't been on a border patrol in a while. He was usually chosen for hunting patrols, because that's what he was good at.

Dragging his paws across the grass, the white warrior lifted his head. As his vision came into focus, the shape of Farshadow on the edge of the waterfall became visible. Without saying anything to Thunderflash, Mottledpelt broke away from everyone else and ran towards the gray tom.

"Hello." Farshadow meowed as he came closer.

Mottledpelt stopped in front of him, panting. "Why are we here again?" He turned his gaze to the ground, finally catching his breath.

"Do you trust me?" Farshadow asked.

Mottledpelt lifted his head. "What?"

"I said, do you trust me?" The warrior's dark eyes burned holes in his green.

The tom opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. The memory of Farshadow's teeth a worm-length from his face filled his mind and made him reconsider his answer. _He said that he was having fun. _Mottledpelt took a deep breath, trying to reassure himself. "Yes."

"Good." Farshadow flicked his tail back and forth, taking a pawstep back. He looked towards the ocean, which was barely visible because of the thousands of tree-lengths between it and them. However, the way the wind blew told Mottledpelt where it was. "I need you to do something for me."

Mottledpelt swallowed. "What?"

Farshadow turned his head away from the water and straight at the white tom. "Before I tell you," Mottledpelt couldn't see downwards because of the long grass swiping at their legs, but he was pretty sure that he unsheathed his claws, "You have to swear to me that you'll do it."

Mottledpelt looked straight down. _Farshadow would never do anything harmful._ When he did a little more thinking, he realized that he _did_ trust Farshadow. They had known each other their entire lives. "I swear."

Farshadow stayed silent for a few heartbeats, then spoke. "Swear to me on your mother's life."

Unwanted memories suddenly started to swirl in Mottledpelt's head, making him unsteady on his paws. "Okay, Farshadow." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that my name is Farrock. Leafstone took me to the Ruins to speak with StarClan, and they said that all Stonemaster apprentices should have the name -rock." The gray tom explained.

"Alright." Mottledpelt replied, half distracted by the gaze of Dawnrunner, which was burning into his brain. It was as if his mother was urging him: _Don't do it!_

Farrock put his tail on Mottledpelt's shoulder, and together the two toms made their way back to camp. When they emerged into the main clearing, every cat was already asleep except for Duststar, who apparently decided to night watch tonight.

"I'll tell you what to do when the time comes." Farrock whispered to Mottledpelt when they were out of Duststar's earshot. "Just remember that you swore to do it."

Not replying, all the white tom could think about was sleep. He walked as slowly as a snail to his nest, where he fell asleep as soon as he hit the moss.

# # #

"I hope Duststar makes me a medicine cat." Fluffykit exclaimed, bounding out of the nursery, Honeysky close behind. "I want to heal my Clanmates, and talk with StarClan, and-"

"We'll see what Duststar thinks." Mapledust crossed the clearing, licking his daughter's head.

Mottledpelt could hear the entire thing from where he was teaching Dogkit the hunter's crouch. The small ginger tom was doing very well, with the exception of his tail flicking back and forth like a dog, which was why his name was Dogkit.

"Thank you for keeping him busy." Honeysky walked over to the two, Fluffykit clinging on to her back. "Their apprentice ceremony should be any time now."

"I want to be a medicine cat!" Fluffykit repeated.

Mottledpelt watched as Dogkit followed his mother back to the nursery, uncertainty swimming in his stomach. Fluffykit wouldn't become a medicine cat, with nobody to teach her. In the seven moons since she first collapsed, Ryepaw hadn't woken up. She should've had her medicine cat name by now.

"All cats old enough to run through the dust gather beneath highledge for a Clan meeting!" Duststar interrupted Mottledpelt's train of thought. He rose to his paws and padded over to the center of the clearing. Cats came from all directions to assemble under highledge. As the rainbow of pelts stopped moving, Duststar leaped down to the spot in the very center of camp where the ground was elevated. As he sat on the protruding rock, Fluffykit and Dogkit excitedly scrambled over to him.

"Today we gather for the most exciting part of a warrior's life." Duststar started, his head moving back and forth from the two kits to the rest of the Clan. "Dogkit and Fluffykit have reached their sixth moon, and are ready to move on to apprenticeship." He looked down at Fluffykit. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Fluffypaw. I would like to mentor you."

Mottledpelt didn't want to look at Fluffypaw's disappointed expression. Instead, he kept his gaze on Dogkit, who was wagging his tail again.

"From this day on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Dogpaw." Duststar announced as Dogkit stepped forwards. "Mottledpelt will be your mentor."

Dogpaw gasped and ran over to Mottledpelt, his tail going even faster than when Duststar was giving him his name. The warrior bent down to nuzzle his apprentice, and at the same instant a jolt of excitement filled his body.

"I was hoping you'd be my mentor!" Dogpaw exclaimed as the gathered cats went their separate ways. The small tom ran in a circle as Fluffypaw and Duststar slowly made their way over.

"I was hoping we could all go on a tour of the territory together." Duststar mewed, making Mottledpelt lift his head.

"Yeah!" Dogpaw responded. He dashed over to his sister, his excitement barely keeping him still. "Come on Fluffyki- Fluffypaw! We've been wanting to do this for moons!"

Fluffypaw looked up, and Mottledpelt noticed her force a smile on her face. "Let's go."

# # #

"Hey, Mottledpelt!" A voice broke into the tom's dreams. His green eyes blinked open, only to be greeted with darkness. "Mottledpelt!"

"What?" The white warrior looked around, and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, Farrock's face came into focus. The dark gray tom was leaning over his nest, his eyes blank. "What?" Mottledpelt repeated.

"Remember that favor I told you that you had to do?" Farrock asked. At Mottledpelt's nod, he continued, "It's time."

The gray warrior got out of his nest and waited for Mottledpelt to do the same. Soon enough, the two toms were exiting the den and emerging into the main cave. It was dark, except for the moonlight filtering through the hole in the roof.

"Come on." Farrock veered to the left and started towards highledge. As the warrior began to climb the rock pile, Mottledpelt stopped in his tracks.

"Why are we going to Duststar's den?" He asked. Farrock, who was on top of the ledge now, turned to him and made a gesture to be quiet. Sighing, Mottledpelt obeyed.

Once they were just outside the entrance to Duststar's cave, Farrock sat down. Inside, Mottledpelt could hear the DustClan leader stirring in his sleep.

"Okay, I'm going to go in first." Farrock instructed. "When I give the signal come in."

Mottledpelt dipped his head. He crouched in the shadows outside of the den, where he couldn't be seen. Farrock got down on his haunches, and started to creep into the den.

After what seemed like moons of waiting, Farrock yowled. Jerking upwards, Mottledpelt didn't realize that he had fallen asleep. He angled his ears, and what he heard made his heart leap into his throat.

Loud panting came from the cave, and growls. The white tom swallowed, not sure if he wanted to round the corner and see what was going on. Had Farrock been injured?

Slowly, Mottledpelt creeped around the side of the cave.

Blood splattered the floor, and the body of Thunderflash laid at one end. _What's he doing in here?_ The deputy slept in the warriors' den.

As he looked around, he noticed Farrock standing over Duststar. He was looking at Mottledpelt, who suddenly felt like a small kit. "Come here."

Trying to relax his muscles, the white tom padded over to Farrock. "What happened to Thunderflash?" He asked.

"He's dead. Gone." Farrock spat out the words like they were useless.

"Why?" Mottledpelt grew uneasier with every passing moment.

"Listen." Farrock leaped off of Duststar, who was somehow still asleep. He padded out of the den, to Mottledpelt's confusion. "Duststar has two lives left." He meowed as he climbed down highledge. "What I think we should do is take one of them. And now that Thunderflash is dead, he'll make you deputy." He sat on the rock in the middle of the clearing, Mottledpelt sitting below him, too numb to say anything. "Then, Duststar will die, and you will be made leader. All I ask is that once you're leader, you give me an apprentice and make me your deputy."

Mottledpelt swallowed. Looking at the ground, he considered it. _Deep down, I've wanted to be leader for a long time._ It was true. Since he was made a warrior, the white tom had been dreaming of calling Clan meetings, and leading the gathering patrol. It was just that he wouldn't admit it to himself. And even if they went along with this ridiculous plan, Farrock would make sure they didn't get caught. He'd become Clan leader, and nobody would know.

But, would he be able to carry the weight of the huge lie on his shoulders? If the rest of the Clan found out, he would be exiled for sure.

Mottledpelt took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this. On one condition."

"What?"

"You let me opt out if anything goes wrong." The warrior looked straight at Farrock, willing him to accept.

The Stonemaster apprentice's orange eyes seemed to calculate something, then he replied: "Yeah, it's a deal."

# # #

The moon was high in the sky, almost full. It cast a bright light through the holes of the DustClan camp's roof, illuminating the cats sitting in a circle around Thunderflash's corpse.

"He helped me form this Clan when all hope seemed lost." Duststar was saying. "He will be remembered for generations as the best deputy a leader could have."

When he finished talking, Sheepspirit took his place. "Thunderflash was one of the best cats I've ever met. He is the reason we aren't all dead."

Mottledpelt barely heard them. His paws were itching with the possibility of becoming the next deputy of DustClan. Now that it was happening, he didn't realize how much he wanted it.

He waited impatiently for everyone to be done speaking, and when the clearing finally became silent, excitement coursed through his body. Duststar _had_ to make him deputy. If he didn't, Mottledpelt didn't know what he would do.

"Duststar." Littlejump chimed in. "You must pick a deputy before moonhigh."

The gray leader looked down at Thunderflash's body, at the same instant Farrock pushed up against Mottledpelt. He began to say the words repeated by Clan leader upon Clan leader. "I say these words before Thunderflash, so he will hear and approve of my choice."

Mottledpelt could barely keep still. Now he knew what it was like to be Dogpaw. The small tom was an amazing apprentice, and he learned very quickly. The only problem was his tail. The white tom considered asking Duststar to give him the name Dogtail when he became a-

"Mottledpelt will be the next deputy of DustClan." The words came as such a surprise to him that he suddenly felt unsteady on his paws.

"Mottledpelt! Mottledpelt!" The excitement came back as the Clan chanted his name. _Farrock killed Thunderflash._ He reassured himself. _It had nothing to do with me._

# # #

Mottledpelt pushed into the warriors' den, yelling Ravensnout's name. After a few calls, the old she-cat lifted her head, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"You're on dawn patrol." He meowed. Ravensnout groaned, rising to her paws in the dark. Mottledpelt walked backwards out of the den, his paws barely touching the ground. He was _made_ to be deputy. He loved telling the patrols when and where to hunt, and waking up the senior warriors for the dawn patrol was pretty amusing. As Ravensnout joined the rest of them, who were ready to leave camp, the white warrior sat down underneath highledge, his mood bright.

"You look happy." Duststar yawned, joining his deputy. Mottledpelt narrowed his eyes. He had been feeling like he was on the moon for a moon, since Duststar made him deputy. How come he was only now noticing?

"I'm just in a good mood today." Mottledpelt replied.

"Good." Duststar meowed. "This leaf-bare has been hard, so I want the patrols doubled tomorrow." The DustClan leader looked over to the fresh-kill pile, which was indeed small. "With no new kits in the Clan, we need to keep everyone happy and healthy."

Mottledpelt nodded silently. The two toms sat there after that, just surveying the camp as cats came and went. After a while, the dawn patrol came back. But something was wrong.

The DustClan patrol was mixed with ScarClan cats, who were sandwiched between the patrol. Among them were Starstone, Sagespiral, and Cootpond. Mottledpelt swallowed.

Lionshine broke away from the group, coming up to Mottledpelt and Duststar. "We found these ScarClan cats on the border."

Duststar leaped down, weaving his way among the patrol. "What are you doing here?" He asked Cootpond.

The ScarClan deputy looked down. "Scarredstar has been taken."

A ripple of silence filled the clearing, but it was gone as soon as it came. "Where?" Duststar asked.

"We don't know. I woke up this morning and she was gone. Just like that." Cootpond looked up, over to Mottledpelt, who had joined the group. "We want you to help us find her."

Duststar and Mottledpelt exchanged glances. When the white warrior looked at his leader, his dark blue eyes were full of concern, and a little bit of confusion. The ScarClan cats shouldn't be asking another Clan for help. From what Mottledpelt had heard, the old Clans were pretty hostile with each other. And here ScarClan was, asking a rival Clan to help track down their lost leader. _They're either desperate or they've decided that the new Clans should work a different way._

"We will help you." Duststar decided. "But I'm afraid we won't get far if we don't have a lead."

"We'll find one." Mottledpelt stepped in. "We've overcome much more. I'm sure we can find Scarredstar."

"Okay." Cootpond seemed grateful. "At sunrise tomorrow, we'll start our search."

"I'll send a patrol." Duststar and Cootpond nodded to each other, and the ScarClan deputy started towards the camp's exit. Mottledpelt watched them go, making eye contact with Starstone for a heartbeat. His heartbeat got louder.

When the ScarClan cats had gone, Mottledpelt looked around for Duststar, but the gray tom had already moved on. The tom huffed under his breath.

"Mottledpelt!" The sudden scream made him jump out of his fur. He turned, spotting Dogpaw and Fluffypaw dashing towards him. "Mottledpelt can Fluffypaw and I come on the search patrol with you tomorrow?" The two apprentices reached the DustClan deputy, excitedly pawing at his legs.

"Absolutely not." Mottledpelt replied. Dogpaw's tail stopped and Fluffypaw stared at the ground. "Who knows what we'll run into? And how do you know I'll be on it?"

"Duststar told me that you were going to lead it." Fluffypaw mumbled.

"Oh."

"I wanna come!" Dogpaw looked up at his mentor with begging eyes. "Pleeeease?"

Mottledpelt sighed. "I'll think about it." As he got up and started towards the medicine cat den, Dogpaw and Fluffypaw were excitedly running around again. Mottledpelt snorted in amusement.

"Hello." He meowed as he entered the medicine den. Sheepspirit was sorting herbs in the back, while Ryepaw laid on a nest of moss and feathers nearer to the front. When Mottledpelt looked at her, his breath caught in his throat at how skinny she was. The she-cat hadn't eaten in nearly eight moons. _She should be dead. _The thought made him queasy.

"Hi." Sheepspirit emerged from her area in the back. "What can I do for you?"

Mottledpelt forced his eyes away from Ryepaw and looked at the she-cat. "A patrol is going out to search for Scarredstar in the morning. I just wanted to let you know in case you want to pack traveling herbs."

The white she-cat's eyes widened. "Of _course_ I'm going to pack traveling herbs!" She turned around and dashed back into her store in a matter of moments. Not knowing what to do, Mottledpelt turned and started out the den.

"Wait!" Sheepspirit called, and the deputy stopped in his tracks. The medicine cat came back out, her eyes on Ryepaw. She gestured for Mottledpelt to join her as she sat in front of the sick apprentice. "I don't want to tell her siblings, but I don't think she'll make it. I mean, she's been like this since before you were a warrior."

Mottledpelt stared at his paws, so many emotions washing over him like a wave. "Why did this happen?"

Sheepspirit ignored the question. "I'm starting to think she won't wake up. I mean, she should've starved by now."

Suddenly, his anger spiked. "That's exactly why we should keep hope. If- if you _kill _her, I'm going to-"

"I'm not going to kill her!" The she-cat took a step back. "Why don't you-"

Mottledpelt didn't hear the rest. He was outside as soon as he knew it, dashing towards the warriors' den. He plopped in his nest, not wanting to be awake.

"Look!" One word broke into the darkness of his sleep. And then suddenly, a scene appeared in his eyes.

It was the ScarClan and DustClan border. Two cats were standing on the ScarClan side of the thunderpath. One was a black and gray striped tom, and the other an extremely dark brown tom. Thick snow blanketed the ground, except on the thunderpath. Instead of the busy one that Mottledpelt knew, this was cracked and grayed. A huge dead weed was wedged in one of the cracks. Without warning, he knew.

_This is the future._

"That is a juicy rabbit." The brown tom said, watching the prey down the territory. "That would feed the Clan for a few days."

"Then let's catch it before it goes somewhere!" The black tom replied.

"But what if it crosses the thunderpath?" The other asked.

"This thunderpath hasn't been used in moons." The black tom sounded confident. "It'll be fine."

Before the brown tom could reply, the black tom took off towards the rabbit. It started running too, but before he could catch it, it veered towards the thunderpath.

"Stop!" The brown tom yelled. But it was too late.

A monster came from the top of DustClan territory, zooming down the thunderpath. The rabbit ran into DustClan territory, and Mottledpelt was sure that the tom would have crossed the border if the monster didn't ram into his side.

Mottledpelt winced as the black tom went flying, and landed on DustClan's territory. The snow around him turned red with impact.

"Sagestripe!" The brown tom dashed across the thunderpath, leaning over where the black tom laid.

"What's going on?" A DustClan patrol came out from the camp, racing to the spot.

And then the scene changed. Two cats sat in DustClan's camp. There was a dark gray tom and a light gray she-cat.

"If you take the Leafstone," the she-cat was saying, "my reality will go spiraling into chaos. Loststone will never save us from Farshadow, and the Clans as we know them will be destroyed.

_Farshadow?_

The tom looked down, his amber eyes calculating Then, he looked back at the she-cat. "What if we give it back? What if we return the Stones to the exact heartbeat they were taken?"

"That means you'll have to win." She responded almost immediately.

"We will." The tom bowed his head in respect. "I promise."

The she-cat took a moment of silence, then spoke: "I'm counting on you, Heavyface." She took the Leafstone in her mouth and passed it to the tom, just as Mottledpelt opened his eyes.

The warriors' den was completely silent. Everyone was still asleep. _Good._

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down. His heartbeat was racing and his paws were trembling. _Calm down, Mottledpelt. It was a dream. Calm down._

He rose to his paws, facing the back of the cave. When he turned around, he came face to face with a mass of purple swirls, two huge dark eyes that were unmistakably Farrock's situated in the middle. The swirls began to take over Mottledpelt's field of vision until there was nothing left.

"Can you shut up?" Springcloud yelled, making the deputy wake up for real this time. "The moon's still up, I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry." Mottledpelt whispered to her, and she put her head back down. Swallowing, he exited the den.

It was still dark, just as Springcloud had said. Mottledpelt passed Honeysky, the first time she was on night guard since her kits became apprentices. The two nodded at each other before Mottledpelt flattened himself and made his way across the thin path leading out to the moor.

It was lighter outside than it was inside the camp. Shaking water droplets from his fur, the DustClan deputy laid down. He knew that he could be attacked by foxes at any given moment but he let his guard down anyway as a gentle breeze stirred the grass and blew leaves from the nearby forest in every which direction. The smells of moorland and prey wafted up his nose as he took in the sights.

_What's going on?_

"I thought you would come out here." Farrock's voice made Mottledpelt jump. "Causing all that racket, I would've been scared, too."

The white tom didn't respond. He just stared ahead at nothing.

"Remember our plan." The gray tom murmured.

Mottledpelt huffed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up with your stupid plan." The words came out before he could stop them.

"Are you calling my plan stupid?" Farrock asked. Mottledpelt gave his head a small shake. "Good."

"I'm going to go organize the search party." Mottledpelt excused himself. As he padded back into the camp, he noticed that Farrock was following him.

"Can I go?" The gray tom asked as Mottledpelt pushed towards the wall of camp to avoid the waterfall.

"Um," he paused, "yeah sure."

"Thanks." Farrock pushed past Mottledpelt, a smile on his face. The white tom stared after him in confusion.

_What if my dream was trying to tell me something? Something about Farrock?_

# # #

"Here are your herbs." Sheepspirit meowed as she laid out the last of them to the search patrol. Mottledpelt lowered his head to eat his share, trying not to scrunch up his face at the bitter taste.

"Can you get one more set?" Duststar's voice made the deputy's ears twitch. "I want to come."

Mottledpelt almost spit out his sorrel. He looked at Duststar, who happened to be standing right next to him. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" He knew that Duststar and Scarredstar weren't that good friends, and DustClan fought against all the other Clans combined during the war. He wasn't much of a fan himself.

"I want to get out of camp, do something exciting." Duststar flexed his claws, as Sheepspirit disappeared into the medicine den to get more traveling herbs. "I miss being a warrior. Sometimes I wish StarClan hadn't chosen me to start a Clan." The leader looked at the ground.

"Your name will be remembered for generations." Mottledpelt assured him. "Remember that in countless moons DustClan will still be standing, all because of-"

"But what if it isn't standing?" Duststar interrupted. "What if the same thing happens to the new Clans that happened to the old Clans?"

Mottledpelt didn't know what to say. He just turned back to the herbs and finished the rest of them, hearing Duststar crunch on his as Sheepspirit brought them out.

"Alright." Mottledpelt swallowed after finishing the last of his traveling herbs. "I'm leading the patrol."

The cats gathered around, and Mottledpelt continued: "Here's the plan: We go to the ScarClan border, hopefully Cootpond will meet us there. Then, we'll follow Cootpond. Understood?"

Every cat nodded, and Mottledpelt's gaze swept over Farrock. The gray warrior was in the back of the crowd, his face serious.

"Let's go." He ordered softly, making a note to keep an eye on the suspicious tom. _There's something going on here._

# # #

"We aren't getting anywhere." Cootpond realized, and he stopped. Mottledpelt skidded to a halt, signaling with his tail that everyone else should stop.

"This is pointless!" Starstone hissed. The young ScarClan warrior had been irritated the entire trip. "Why can't we just go back and make Cootpond our leader?"

"No!" Cootpond growled. "I'm not stopping until we find her!"

Mottledpelt sighed. "We've been searching since sunhigh." He looked up. The sun was beginning to set over the Burning Sea. "Scarredstar will be all the way to twolegplace by now, and we'll never be able to find her in there."

Cootpond's gaze softened. "Oh."

"Listen to him!" Starstone chimed in. "This is _useless!"_

"Shut up!" Farrock's yowl sent shivers down Mottledpelt's spine. "If Cootpond wants to be a loyal deputy, then let him. I think we can find her."

"No, we can't." Starstone's mew got harder.

Mottledpelt didn't want to look behind him, but from the expression on Cootpond and Duststar's faces, it wasn't good.

"Sheathe your claws, Farrock!" Duststar ordered. "We aren't here to fight each other!"

But it was too late.

Claws ripped down Mottledpelt's flank, making him cry out in pain. The white tom spun around, his eyes focused on one thing: Farrock.

The warrior was shaking Starstone's body back and forth in his mouth, because she was half his size. Mottledpelt gritted his teeth, ignoring the cat who attacked him.

By the time he reached the two Stonemasters, the two Clans had erupted into fighting, and Starstone's gray pelt was splattered with blood.

"Stop!" He yelled, and Farrock froze. A moment later, he dropped Starstone. The small she-cat fell to the ground and didn't move.

"Why did you attack her?" Mottledpelt asked over the cries to fighting warriors. "That was an apprentice's move."

"She needs to be taught her place. She's older than us. She should be more mature." He sounded so calm.

"That's not a reason."

But Farrock wasn't listening. He was fixed on something behind Mottledpelt. The deputy spun around.

Farrock had been looking at Duststar, who was trying to break up a fight.

"Wh-"

Farrock shot past the white tom, headed straight for Duststar. Before Mottledpelt had time to react, the gray warrior was on the DustClan leader.

"Farrock!" Duststar yowled. "You started this!"

"And I'm ending it!" He hooked his paws around Duststar's throat, and slowly ripped his claws outward, opening a nasty gash in the leader's neck. "Mottledpelt!"

The deputy left Starstone and raced to the two gray warriors.

"Remember that favor?"

"There's no way I'm doing a favor for you now!" Mottledpelt launched himself, and knocked Farrock off Duststar.

"If you kill Duststar, I won't tell." Farrock stuttered under the deputy's claws. "You'll be leader, and I'll be deputy."

"No!" Mottledpelt wanted to claw the warrior's eyes out. _Why didn't I listen to the vision? How could I be so blind?_

"Stop!" Ravensnout's voice was so powerful that every cat stopped. The area got completely silent, except for Ravensnout's heavy breathing.

"Duststar's dead!"

# # #

Mottledpelt stood over Duststar's body, which was still bleeding. Something inside him hoped that this wasn't his last life, and he'd come back from StarClan and be his happy self.

Farrock was flanked by Leafstone and Littlejump, with every other warrior ready to spring if he tried to escape.

"Mottledpelt." Sheepspirit whispered into his ear. "You have to choose a deputy by moonhigh."

The white tom sighed, looking up through the hole in the roof. The moon was almost dead center in the sky. He didn't want to appoint a deputy. That would be accepting the fact that he was the leader of DustClan.

"Okay." He forced himself to say. "I say these words before Duststar, so that he may hear and approve of my choice." He stared at Farrock as he said the next words, "Springcloud will be the deputy of DustClan."

The expression on Farrock's face was priceless as the Clan congratulated the she-cat.

"I need to do something else." The new DustClan leader turned to his Clan. "For my first act as-" He paused, looking at Duststar's body, "-as leader, I must exile Farrock."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd as Leafstone padded to her apprentice. "I can't let a cat of such cruelty possess the Stone."

Farrock seemed to shrink in his pelt. Mottledpelt leaped down from highledge and walked over to the two cats. "I'll take him to the border." He told the Stonemaster.

"Very well." Leafstone dipped her head and left the two toms. Mottledpelt faced Farro- no, Farshadow now.

"Come on." He touched his paw to Farshadow's side.

To his surprise, the gray tom didn't protest. He dragged his paws after Mottledpelt, and after what seemed like ages, they came up on the far border of DustClan's territory.

"I'll be back." Farshadow hissed under his breath as he crossed the scent line. And what made Mottledpelt more scared what that he knew Farshadow was right. He would come back, long after their time.

Farshadow disappeared into the trees, and the white tom guessed he was headed towards the mountains at the edge of the Valley.

With one last look at the towering peaks, Mottledpelt turned around and started back towards DustClan camp.

# # #

Mottledstar opened his eyes, but he noticed immediately that he wasn't in the medicine den, where he had gotten greencough and died for the last time. He lifted his head, the sweet scents of StarClan wafting up his nose.

"Welcome home." Duststar greeted his successor, and the two leaders touched noses. Mottledstar had never been so happy to see someone in his life.

_Well, this isn't my life anymore._ He remembered. "Breezerock will be at the Ruins to have his Stonemaster ceremony any time now." He turned his back to Duststar. "I better get going, I need to be there."

Before he could start running, the gray tom meowed: "Wait."

Mottledstar stopped. "Yeah?"

"Come." Duststar gestured to a pool of water a tree-length away. "I need to show you something."

Mottledstar caught up with the DustClan leader as he was touching his nose to the water. An image appeared on the surface. With a jolt, the white tom realized it was a vision he had, the one of the tom who got hit by a monster. "I've seen this before."

"But you don't understand it, even after your many moons of life." Duststar sat down. "That cat," he pointed to the tom, "He will save them from Farshadow. Have faith, my friend, DustClan is safe."

_When Farshadow comes back, _Mottledstar got more hopeful with every heartbeat, _They'll be ready._


End file.
